2

Her mantle of humility

To thole both wind and wet.

Her hat should be of fair having,
And her tippet of truth;
Her patelet of good pansing,2
Her hals-ribband of ruth.3

Her sleeves should be of esperance,
To keep her from despair:
Her gloves of the good governance,
To hide her fingers fair,

Her shoen should be of sickerness,4
In sign that she not slide:
Her hose of honesty, I guess,
I should for her provide.

Would she put on this garment gay,
I durst swear by my seill,5

That she wore never green or gray,

That set her half so well.

Suffer. Sax.

Thinking. I do not understand the word patelet (pattelette. Fr.) unless it mean lappet.

3 Her neck-ribband of pity. • Felicity.

4 Security, steadiness.

• Became.

he

Lord Hailes, in his notes on this poem, which

supposes to be " a sort of paraphrase of 1 Tim. "ii. 9-11," observes very justly, that the comparison between female ornaments, and female virtues, is carried so far as to become "somewhat "ridiculous." But this strange conversion of the virtues into the stock in trade, of an allegorical mantua-maker, was first conceived by Olivier de la Marche, who, in a poem intitled "Le Triomphe, ou "Parement des Dames d'Honneur," recommends to the ladies slippers of humility, shoes of diligence, stockings of perseverance, garters of " ferme propos" (i. e. determination), a petticoat of chastity, a pincushion of patience, &c.

Such was the taste of the age, but the following fine moral poem, will shew that Henrysoun's talents were fitted for a better employment than that of imitating Olivier de la Marche.

The Abbey Walk.

Alone as I went up and down,
In an abbey, was fair to see,
Thinking what consolation

Was best unto adversity;

I

On case I cast on side mine ee,2

And saw this written on a wall:

"Of what estate, man, that thou be, "Obey, and thank thy God of all!"

Thy kingdom, and thy great empire,
Thy royalty, nor rich array,

Shall nought endure at thy desire;
But, as the wind, will wend away.
Thy gold, and all thy goodis gay,
When fortune list, will fra thee fall:
Sen thou sic samples sees ilk day,
Obey, and thank thy God of all!

Though thou be blind, or have an halt, Or in thy face deformed ill,

So it come not through thy default, No man should thee repreif 3 by skill. Blame not thy Lord, so is his will! Spurn not thy foot against the wall; But with meek heart, and prayer still, Obey, and thank thy God of all.

God, of his justice, mon 4 correct;
And, of his mercy, pity have;
He is a judge, to none suspect,
To punish sinful man and save.

Though thou be lord atour the laif,'
And afterward made bound and thrall,
A poor beggar, with scrip and staff
Obey, and thank thy God of all.

This changing, and great variance
Of earthly statés, up and down,
Is not but casualty and chance,
(As some men says without reasown)
But by the great provision

Of God above, that rule thee shall!
Therefore, ever thou make thee boun3
To obey, and thank thy God of all.

In wealth be meek, heich4 not thyself;
Be glad in wilful poverty;
Thy power, and thy worldis pelf,
Is nought but very vanity.
Remember, him 5 that died on tree,6
For thy sake tasted bitter gall:
Who heis low hearts, and loweis hi,
Obey; and thank thy God of all!

Above the rest: literally, beside the rest. Fr.

Patrick Johnstoun is only known to us by a single specimen of 64 lines, printed in lord Haile's collection. The following are the most striking stanzas.

The three dead Powis.1

1.

O sinful man! into this mortal see

Which is the vale of mourning and of care,
With gaistly sight behold our headis three;
Our holkit eyn, our peeled powis bare.3
As ye are now, into 4 this world we were;
As fresh, as fair, as lusty to behold.
When thou lookest on this sooth exemplar,
Of thyself, man, thou may be right un-bold.

III.

O wanton youth! as fresh as lusty May,
Fairest of flowers renewed white and red,
Behold our heads, O lusty gallants gay!
Full loathly thus shall lie thy lustyhed
Holkit, and how, and wallowit as the weed."

Thy crampland 7 hair, and eke thy crystal eyn,

6 Holkit and how are nearly synonymous, both meaning

hollow, emaciated: wallowed is faded.

Curled, like tendrils.